Still giving Facebook hashtags a go?  Great! Assuming you're using them correctly... If you're using hashtags on Facebook, you have to remember that it's not the same platform as Twitter.  There are different rules that apply.  The same basic structure is set up though.  You type in a "#" symbol and then whatever single word or phrase without spaces that you want to use (sans symbols).  What else do you need to remember though?

"I'll make you Number One on Google!" You’re bound to have heard that promise before. In some ways being number one has never been more difficult to achieve. Search engine results have changed a lot and more change is on the horizon. Here’s what that means for you:

At this point, many businesses have taken the initiative to put themselves out there.  Businesses are reaching their customers like never before through websites, blogs, newsletters, and social media.  With what seems like 30 new social media platforms a minute, it can be difficult to decide which network is worth putting a big chunk of your time into and which might not need as close of an eye on it.

While everyone wants an insurance company to have a sizable and solid foundation, no one likes to work with a nameless and faceless organization. Brian Berce has been with Farmers Insurance since 1996. He already has a corporate web presence, but he wanted a personal website to help build relationships with people in his community.

His new website provides all the important details clients are looking for regarding their insurance questions while also giving Brian a blog platform to talk about local news and events. And of course he has a personable About page so folks can "meet" him on line.

Sprocket Websites is happy to help Brian introduce himself to new clients. If your business is similar, call us to talk about building a personal website for you.

The best way to be found online by prospective customers is to honestly and obviously tell search engines that you are the best result for the customer’s search. Don’t waste time trying to ferret out the latest SEO tricks. Instead, make sure you’ve completed these 5 first steps.

A large majority of social media networks are following the trend and becoming publishing platforms. Users are taking advantage of the opportunity to publish their original content to propel readers back to their own sites, businesses, products, etc. Social media marketing and content marketing are very much merged at this point. Platforms, like LinkedIn, who are encouraging content marketing with features like LinkedIn Pulse are also adding better analytics for publishers to able to better target readers and to have the ability to adapt their content to the preference of those readers. 

On Wednesday, May 13, I gave a talk for Naper Launch, an initiative of the Naperville Public Library to help entrepreneurs launch businesses, in honor of Small Business Week. Here's how it went.

Twitter and Facebook ads, content marketing, search engine optimization – with so many evolving options to consider, it’s easy to get caught up in the details and lose focus on the bigger picture. Are you sabotaging your business because you aren’t properly prepared to make marketing decisions?

Hootsuite recently launched a new feature they are referring to as "Suggestions".   This new feature gives users the ability to get a weeks worth of content suggestions tailored to each specific social media account that users have tied in to their Hootsuite account.  It was advertised within Hootsuite as a new feature designed to save time and to find the best articles possible to share at the best times possible.  Those of us who have been poking around with it here or there over the past few weeks have learned that the Suggestions' beta period is now closing.  The new rules following that beta period are that users can share 10 articles per week or upgrade their accounts for unlimited shares.  So, is it worth upgrading to unlimited?  And, what has my experience with Suggestions been?